The Qatar World Cup has been prodigal in deciding the classification of the teams in the penalty shootout, which injects the games with emotion and, not rarely enshrines the goalkeepers. Of the 12 knockout matches at the World Cup — eight in the round of 16 and four in the quarterfinals — a third had a penalty shootout to decide who moved forward and who went home. And the result was a low rate (61%) of penalties taken.
Of the 33 shots in the four games that went to the penalties after overtime, 13 were wasted (39%). Kicks that started from the white line during the games had a higher hit rate: 68% (13 of 19), but still below average. The company Sensorial, from Ribeirão Preto (SP), specialized in neuroscience, states, based on a survey by the John Moores University, from Liverpool (England), that "statistically, 70% of penalty kicks are converted" —this for games in general, not just in the world tournament.
Another study, carried out by researchers Mike Hughes (Carlow Institute of Technology, Ireland) and Julia Wells (English Institute of Sports), considering World Cup and Eurocup matches, points out that the hit rate of players is 75% in penalty shootouts.
Translated by Cassy Dias